Heres one for ya....

How come the Pneumatic nailer comes with a maller?

Also, I'm installing 3/4 Hickory on second floor, do I use Nails or staples?

All kinds of pneumatic nailers and staplers. Some are trigger activated and some are activated by striking the nailing machine with a mallet. When installing T&G flooring with a pneumatic flooring nailer/stapler, hitting it with a mallet helps drive the flooring up tight. The manual models work by the same principle; they just don't have the air assist in firing the fastener.
A pneumatic flooring stapler A manual flooring nailer

A pneumatic finish nailer, trigger activated

A trigger activated pneumatic floor stapler

The steel part of the mallet, works for taping the flooring together.

GENTLY, very GENTLY!!

Yes, extremely gentle. I rarely used it except when I needed to use a "beater board" for stubborn crooked pieces. It works more of a counter weight providing the force to drive cleats home with the older manual nailers.

The design of that steel part is made to tap the floor into the joints. That angle makes it so your taping more on the bottom and you don't hit the top edge.

Perry:

If instructions called for tapping with that metal part claims would go through the roof. Now, I never touched the tool before '91 and do recall they were made differently. Gary?

Another newbie question:

I see this finish nailer among few floor nailers.. Does it mean it suitable for hardwood floor installation?

Thanks!

It is used in places the T&G flooring nailer/stapler will not fit, such as the starter courses and the last few courses up to the wall.

About the mallet, yes, you can, and some do and have done, a gentle tap with the steel weighted side of the head. Tap too hard and you'll smash the tongue, which will prevent the next board from fitting well. Since I prefer the Lixie mallet (weighs less), I don't concern myself with with it. The Lixie mallet has various different caps one can install, from very hard to very soft. I use a hard one on one side and the softest one on the other. The hard one is for gentle tapping and acting like a hammer when needed. The soft one enables me to whack the daylights out of the flooring without causing any damage. The Powernailer type mallet has the steel weight on one sided of the head. This is primarily for the weight and was designed for use with the manual nailer. They angled the steel head back to allow for tapping boards on the tongues only. However, it can cause problems, like tearing the floor paper and dimpling the sides and tongues of the flooring. So, if anyone does use that part for tapping together, do so VERY GENTLY.

It is not for beating the boards together!!! I think your misunderstanding, or I wasn't clear enough.

Why is every mallet made with that flat angle design then??? Why isn't it just round or a big squared off piece for easy manufactureing? What do you use to engage the T&G on a ¾ fasten down?

It is made so you can drag a board with it from your rack and tap it in without having to handle the board. When things go smooth, the only time you should touch a board, is getting it out of the carton or bundle, and when cutting it.

It looks like I'll never be right...hehe. I've only installed a hundred naildowns or so in my time. Now that I do have a bit more time, I would ocassionally use the metal part only for tapping an end joint tight before nailing, but that's a no-no too as it can cause dings on the ends. Rarely(probably almost never) would I use it to tap boards together for nailing.

I have no idea why the design is the way it is. I offered an educated guess, but I think it makes sense. Maybe a manufacturer expert could provide more on the subject.



Simple, the rubber part. Ever wonder why they make both white and black ones? As far as dragging, that's what feet are for.